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Breakaway Anglicans ratify constitution

Leaders of a breakaway church formed out of the U.S. Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada, met June 22-25 in Bedford, Texas, where they ratified a constitution and bylaws, including ones to prohibit female bishops, same-sex blessings and noncelibate gay clergy.

The Anglican Church in North America also installed Robert Duncan as its archbishop. Duncan, 60, the former Episcopal bishop of Pittsburgh, urged the denomination to study Scripture, plant 1,000 congregations in the next five years, and engage Islam “because there is only one way to the Father; it’s a matter of life and death.”

With an estimated 69,000 members, ACNA hopes to be recognized as a province of the Anglican Communion, which requires approval by two-thirds of the world’s 38 Anglican primates (church heads). Those at the Texas gathering already had support from Southern Baptists; the National Association of Evangelicals; megachurch pastor Rick Warren; and Metropolitan Jonah, head of the Orthodox Church in America.